9:30 p.m., July 23, 2013

Kramerbooks & Afterwords Café

“I Wanna be Down” by Brandy is playing semi-loudly, a song from 1994.

I’ve been trying to motivate myself to write more these days and I guess there is no time like the present to push one’s limits. 20 minutes of social media scrolling go by and zero words are written on the page. I have no real reason or force within me to keep writing and it’s making me feel less and less productive with each minute gone by.

But I’m okay. I ordered a fruity summertime cocktail from a bartender that had enough charisma to be just like me. She wasn’t great and I’m not either. Peach vodka, strawberries and mint – a peach strawberry mojito of sorts. It is having the expected effect on me. Little by little. I’m feeling warmer and I’m not even halfway done. She poured heavily. Can’t blame her. It’s suddenly very warm in here.

Lamar on the radio and my short essay may have turned into a poem. By the end of the page I’ll know. That sounds like poetic justice, which is coincidentally the song that’s playing right now.